Caramelizing and roasting (especially in the fall) are a few of my favorite things! I love using squash in all kinds of recipes, but it’s also wonderful on its own — especially when you roast it to perfection, bringing out all of its natural sweet flavor to its surface.

Both my boys love this. I don’t think any kids wouldn’t! This recipe can also be done with other fall/winter squashes, such as delicata, butternut, buttercup, banana or kabocha. It’s a wonderful addition to dinner or a weekend lunch (I don’t seem to be able to squeeze in thirty minutes of roasting mid-day — go figure). Whatever the meal, it’ll be a treat!

Ingredients

1 (approximately 1 1/2 pound) acorn squash

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons agave nectar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation

Serves 4

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil. Slice both ends off of the squash. Hold it carefully as you cut because it’s very hard. Then slice the squash into halves and cut each half into 6 slices.Add the oil, agave, cinnamon and salt to the foil-lined baking sheet. Use your hands to blend this mixture and then coat the flesh of each slice of squash.

Roast the squash in the preheated oven until nicely brown and caramelized, about 30 minutes. It’s important to flip the slices over halfway through cooking. You can very easily remove the flesh with a spoon or small knife when it’s done.

An additional note:

I highly recommend adding a bit of heat to this if you’re not serving kids! A touch of cayenne pepper is perfect!

Valentina's passion is food, and she loves spending time in her "kitchen retreat," as she refers to that room in her house. Valentina develops recipes for creative and comforting food that works perfectly for casual entertaining. Both her recipes and food photography have been featured many times on popular food websites and in print. Valentina shares her beautiful photographs as well as new and interesting recipes almost daily on her blog, Cooking on the Weekends.

Outside the worlds of food and photography, Valentina's other passion is her family (including her two young boys, her husband and her puppy, Maple.)

To learn more about Valentina and where her work has been featured, visit her About page at Cooking On The Weekends.